A Collection of Imagines

Nick

Congrats

I walk swiftly towards the loud table with the brisket in my hands. I hear my dad laugh at another one of my sister's jokes as I watch Nick lean back in his seat with another wide smile growing across his face. I place the tray down on the table and leave it there to look at the scene in front of me. My father at the head of the table in front of me, listening to stories about my brother's years in high school. They sit on either side of him, eating their mashed potatoes. On the left of both of my brothers seats my sister and her husband, ironically named Nicholas. I never heard the end of my mother's jokes about how her daughters married men with the same names. It never gets old with her. Across from where I'm seated is my husband. The love of my life. My living, breathing soul. 

I laugh along with my sister-in-law next to me. She leans into me and exchanges a shrug. She shakes her head at her brother's remark. I turn my head to find my wife entering the backyard. I always admired the place. How the lantern lights would gleam as they hung through the redwood trees. She walks in briskly with the meat on a tray in her hand. Her eyes find mine and her smile grows. She places the brisket down on the edge of the table and looks out at the scene in front of her. She takes in all of the smiling faces, just like I'm taking in hers now. She dips her hands in to the meat to pull out the utensils within the tray. Her engagement ring shines under the dimmed lighting. It makes me happy that she still wears it. When I gave it to her and asked her to marry me, I got her a small diamond. I knew that she wouldn't accept a larger one, but it was still nerve wracking to present her that one. She accepted it with a rather large smile and my heart leaped. 

I look down to catch his eyes again. Another rupture of laughter claps through the table and I keep my eyes on him. 

"Brisket's done?" 

My eyes go to my mother that sits in between my brother-in-law and my eldest brother. She smiles at me. "Yeah, help yourselves." My brother in law takes a hold of the tray and passes it to my mother. She stands at the table to cut and distribute the slices of meat to the table. 

"Looks good, baby sister." 

"Thank you, Conner." I place my palms down onto the table. A wave of nervousness comes over me as the minutes tick by. I haven't told them, yet. I don't know what they're going to think. 

I place a hand over hers. She looks down at me and the nervous expression only dims slightly. I lean forward towards her with a frown. She leans down to me and plants a small kiss on my lips. Once she separates from me, she hovers over my face. She sighs silently. I'm not going to lie to her. I'm nervous, too. I've known this family for years and sometimes it's very hard to register what they're going to react to certain news. 

"It's time." I whisper to him, hoping the rest of the table didn't hear. 

"Time for what?" 

And of course, I'm unsuccessful. I lean back up to see my sister staring at me. Soon enough, the whole table is. I pull Nick by the arm off of his chair. "Well, Lauren. Family. We have an announcement to make." My sister gasps in her chair, but I interrupt her before any words slip out. "And before you make assumptions, let me speak." At that, both of my brothers lean back in their chairs and stare intimidatingly at Nick. I point at them. "Don't do that." My oldest brother, Cole, speaks first. 

"Do what?" 

"Stare at my husband like that. He didn't do anything wrong." 

"Well, we don't know that yet." 

"Conner, shut up. What happened to letting me talk?" 

He puts his hands up in surrender and Nick chuckles beside me. I huff out an exaggerated sigh and he leans into me to kiss my temple. "Alright. Now, as you know, today is Nick and I's first wedding anniversary and we chose not to celebrate it alone like a normal couple, but rather with you people." The table lets out a small chuckle and I continue. "Because I have to tell you ..." I look over at Nick. He can't seem to contain his smile. 

I'm so fucking nervous. I can't even contain it on my face. I want to just blurt it out, but she said she wanted to tell them, so I let her have it. "Tell them." 

"I can't. I'm too nervous." I clasp my hands together. 

"Just tell us." 

My father finally pipes up. If I wasn't nervous before, I am now. How can I tell my father this? The man that still sees me as a little girl. "I ..." 

"Come on, it's just us." 

"Spit it out." 

"Rip off the band aid." 

"For God's sake, tell us." 

"Tell us!"

They all scream together and I let the words fly. "I'M PREGNANT." They all fall silent. 

They all fall deadpan with this strange shocked look on their faces. It takes them a good second for them to react. And they act fairly positively. One by one, they all jump from their seats to congratulate her. 

"Oh my god, it's about damn time." 

She rolls her eyes at her mother as she embraces her. Her brothers come next. They hug her and they move to embrace me. 

"You did it man. You knocked up my sister." 

"Cole!" 

I laugh along with them at her reaction. Both her sister and brother-in-law hug us together before I figure out that there's still my father-in-law left. He slowly walks up to her with tears in his eyes. My heart finally slows. He's just as happy as we are. 

"I'm so happy for you." 

"Oh, Dad." 

She moves her hand up to wipe away her own tears. I was too busy making sure that I hug everyone that I didn't notice her start to cry. It makes her look younger with tears in her eyes and arms wrapped around her father. I can't take my eyes away from it. Once they break away, I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her into me. Her hand lands on my chest and the other lands on my back. She laughs into my neck and I plant a kiss on her forehead. 

"Ok, I need to get a picture for Facebook."

"Mom!" 

I laugh harder next to her. She gives her mother a glare. 

"Come on. Just one of you two kissing. Please?" 

She looks at me once again. I raise an eyebrow to her. Without looking at her mother or moving away from me, she replies, 

"Fine." 

My mother-in-law readies the phone and I dip down to her lips. We smile into it as we hear wooing sounds from our relatives. My mother in law puts down the camera and we don't move. "Congrats, my love." 

"Congrats to you, too."